A List of Racial Justice Readings

 In Sunday's sermon I mentioned that reading is a great way to learn about our role in racial justice.  I said I could give you a list. Well, here it is.

 Books I have read about racial justice with the church in mind.

 1. Trouble I've Seen -  By Drew G.I. Hart 

2. Deep Denial - By David Billings

3. God Loves Justice - By Jessica Nicholas

4. The Color of Compromise - By Jemar Tisby 

5. Rediscipling the White Church - By David W. Swanson

6. Witnessing Whiteness - By Kristopher Norris

7. How To Fight Racism - By Jemar Tisby

8. Jesus and the Disinherited - By Howard Thurman

Books I have read about racial justice without the church in mind.

1. Between The World and Me - By Ta-Nehisi Coates

2. The Sum of Us - By Heather McGhee

3. Just Mercy - By Bryan Stevenson

4. Slavery By Another Name - By Douglas A. Blackmon

5. How To Be An Antiracist - By Ibram X. Kendi

Books I have yet to read but have heard great things about.

I'm Still Here - By Austin Channing Brown

White Fragility - By Robin DiAngelo

Reading While Black - By Esau McCaulley 

Who Will Be A Witness - By Drew G.I. Hart

 

Here's What I'm Reading During Covid 19

Now that we have finished reading and discussing “God Loves Justice” I thought I would share the books I have been reading during the pandemic. God Loves Justice is an important book and if you haven’t had the chance to read it I hope you will once you can get a copy. This year I set a goal of reading 30 books.  For me that is a goal that is doable but takes some effort to accomplish. So far, I have read 11 books and with the baseball season delayed, I have a good shot at making my goal. Here is a look at what I have been reading during the pandemic.

I checked out two books from the Herndon Library right before the pandemic closed everything down. I keep a list of books people suggest. Both books came off that list.  Lucky for me the library suspended returns. It took me a while to get through them.  It’s not that the books were bad but my schedule was turned upside down with meetings the first few weeks of Covid19.

One of the books from the library was “The Newcomers” by Helen Thorpe. This book was recommended to me by Exodus World Service, the refugee resettlement organization the youth and I worked with in Chicago last summer. In “The Newcomers”, Thorpe tells of her experience spending a year and a half in a high school English as a Second Language Class.  The class was made up of teenage refugees who had recently resettled in the United States. She shares powerful stories of the struggles and challenges refugee’s face once they resettle in their new country. I strongly believe these are stories that need to be heard!

I also checked out “The Blue Sweater” by Jaqueline Novograte. Novograte lives in Northern Virginia and is the founder and CEO of Acumen. In High School she donated a blue sweater to a local clothing ministry and years later saw the sweater on a young child in Africa. She uses this story to share her experiences of trying to help empower the poor around the world.  Her experience with working with the poor offers a lot to teach us about how to properly end poverty. She makes a very compelling case that we should all pay attention to. 

After finishing my library books, I started looking around my office and home for books I never finished.  Right on my office desk was Adam Hamilton’s latest book, “The Walk” so I started with it. In “The Walk”, Hamilton shares five spiritual practices Christians should follow and easy steps to make them a part of your everyday life. As a church we read Hamilton’s “The Way” a few years back. I might rate “The Way” as a better book but I think “The Walk” is a practical and helpful read I would recommend to everyone. 

Currently, I am reading “The Divine Dance”, by Ricard Rohr and “Reading Romans Backwards” by Scot McKnight. Both are preacher type books but if you are up for a challenge you might enjoy them.  My stack of unfinished books is embarrassingly high so I have a lot to read during the pandemic.  This should help me reach my goal.

Now, please share! What are you reading?

God Loves Justice Week 6 Final Chapter

This is Holy Week and our goal was to read "God Loves Justice" during Lent.  If you have finished great job! If you are not quite done let me encourage you to continue reading because I believe this book has a lot to teach us.  I hope you and I will continue to grow in learning to love what God loves and God loves justice! The last video of our class is below.  Thank you for being apart of our study!

Points to ponder

Make a list of 3 to 5 things you have learned from reading God Loves Justice.

Where do you feel God leading you in living out Justice and righteousness?

How can our church help you live into a life of loving Justice and righteousness? 

God Loves Justice Week 5

Today we dicuss chapters 13, 14 and 15 of God Loves Justice.  Thank you for sticking to the work and I look forward to your comments.  Here's the video.

Points to Ponder

1. I like Nicholas' explanation of Meekness, “being Meek doesn't mean that you become weak or a doormat..It means strength under control.  It describes those who don’t trust their own power. “

Who is an example of true meekness in your life?

What other explanations of the beatitudes stand out to you?

  

2. Nicholas says;

“I think many of us Christians have been trained to be passive toward injustice, because we have been trained to respond to suffering with intellectual reasoning. And when we find that reason, that is enough for us to explain away our own role in bringing change.”

What are some examples of how we respond to suffering with intellectual reasoning and fail to help?  What are some steps to change our response and move to help those in need? 

3. What areas of your everyday life need your attention in living a just and righteous way?

God Love Justice Week 4

Here we are again! Thank you for reading and staying with the work of justice.

Please view the video below for our discussion and join the discussion in the comment section below.

Questions to ponder

1. What are stories in the gospels that display the Kingdom of God as works of righteousness and justice?
2. How is God inviting you into the story of God’s kingdom to live out justice and righteousness to bring Shalom ?
3. Where do you think God is “launching” our church in the work of Justice and Righteousness?

Next week we will discuss Chapters 13-15  It’s a little longer read.

God Loves Justice Week 3

Hello Friends,

Let's keep on reading! Below are my reflections on Chapters 7-9.  Please watch the video and comment with your questions, answers or thoughts!

Questions to Ponder:

What are some actions and changes we need to make to move from understanding

the poor as people to simply “take care of”  and view them as people who need to

be seen, heard, respected, and treated as equal?

When you look at the description of Job’s life, what are some of the qualities that

you want said about how you live your own life? How can you start building those

habits?

What about our worship practices are pleasing to God because they reflect justice?

What about our worship practices might irritate God because they deflect from

justice? 

Share a part of the reading that taught you something about justice.

Next week we discuss chapters 10-12.

God Loves Justice Week 2

Thank you for coming back to week two of our discussion of God Loves Justice! I'm glad you are reading with me and that we are discovering more and more about what God loves. Watch the video below and please comment if you can!

Reflections and comments: 

Think about and share an example, story or someone you know that displays our new understanding of Justice, Righteousness and Mercy.

What stands out for you in Chapters 3-6?

Do you have any questions about what we have read?

Next week we read Chapters 7-9